Until we part
by ZombiedevilXD
Summary: Warning: Genderbending and crossdressing. Somewhat of a history of thiefshipping. This story shows the flirtatious and adventurous relationship Marik and Bakura had before their current lifetime. If you like citron and/or thiefshipping, this is the fic for you.
1. Mingle

**There's not much I can say about this fic without spoiling the whole thing so I'll tell you what I can. This is somewhat of a history of thiefshipping in an approach that I'm positive has not yet been tried. It takes place during the Thief King's past and could fit in the regular story timeline with some tweaking here and there.**

"The name's Akefia," a snakelike voice introduced, "pleased to make your acquaintance."

Akefia's two smokey blue eyes locked hard on his new prey. He placed one hand gingerly onto the soft brown shoulder of the woman of choice and gave his million watt grin. Out of all the peasants and beggars that swarmed the pub late that night she was the most well-dressed. Adorned in hundreds of gold beads and bangles and inked head to toe in strange tattoos, Akefia saw the perfect opportunity.

"Well, pretty lady," he said brushing his finger across her cheek and tucking a strand of her sandy blonde hair back from her face, "won't you tell me your name?"

The woman smirked and shrugged Akefia's hand off her shoulder.

"You want to know my name?" She said wrapping a finger around one of Akefia's own, "Then you'll have to buy me a drink first."

Akefia, for a brief moment, was caught off guard. It was this feeling that made him want to play her game. Things were usually more fun this way. Seeing that he was willing the woman dragged Akefia over to the bar. She walked with such a sway in her step that complimented the lizard tattoo that Akefia spied on her lower back, Akefia couldn't help but feel delighted inside for the job ahead.

"Two sir." called Akefia to the bartender.

"Kyeh!" the woman scoffed, "two for me too."

Akefia was once again surprised by the woman's unusual manner but he didn't object. The moment the woman received her drinks she downed them faster than anything Akefia had ever seen in his life. When she was finished her violet-gem eyes meet Akefia's telling him it was his turn.

Akefia was hoping he wouldn't have to drink much; that the woman would do all the drinking for him, it made it easier to pick pockets that way. Since she left him no other choice he downed both glasses hoping she would end up being the one more drunk in the end.

"Sheeba." She said as Akefia finished.

"It suits you."

"Akefia, right?"

"You could call me that."

"And you could call me "yours" for a few more drinks." Without even waiting for Akefia's permission she called to the bartender once more and he sent them each two more drinks, "You know you're paying right?"

"Then I guess you're mine." Akefia didn't hesitate to hand over the money to the bartender but he knew he couldn't keep it up for much longer.

"I like parties and dancing," Sheeba said fluttering her eyelashes looking a little more interested in Akefia, "and stallions. The faster the better."

"And what if I couldn't get you those things?" Akefia teased poking her playfully on the nose.

"Then I won't be giving you what you want." She said laughing. Her laugh made electricity run down Akefia's spine. Luckily for him what HE wanted was within reaching distance now, a pouch of coins he found tied to Sheeba's waist.

"Then, hell, I'll give you everything." He began to lean in as if to kiss her, closing his eyes, one hand reaching for her face and the other her pouch. He was sure he had it when he fell short. Sheeba had moved just out of his range.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Sheeba said playfully grabbing Akefia's wrist closest to her pouch.

Knowing his cover was now blown right open Akefia reached for his dagger.

"Not so fast." said Sheeba in a sing-song voice.

"You dirty bitch! What have you done with it?"

"You mean this?" Sure enough Sheeba pulled Akefia's dagger right from her waist band and dangled it just out of his reach, "I 'found' it."

"Give it back!"

"Hmm... looks pretty. Too pretty to belong to a common thief if you ask me. I take it this dagger is special, no?"

Enraged Akefia threw himself at Sheeba but Sheeba was clever and used the weight of Akefia's rage to pin the thief to the ground and leave him prone. All the people in the pub turned their heads to face the racket.

"If you want your dagger back so badly you'll have to earn it." Sheeba slid the dagger back in her waistband and started to walk away from Akefia.

"Let's meet up on the outskirts, tomorrow, if you're interested." She said and turned out the door without another word.

Akefia was in silence as he took in his shame. That dagger meant more to him than his own soul.

**Phew! That was alot of work (but only two pages on MS word ;A; ) I'm just glad it's over with now. Anyways... If you haven't gotten it yet this woman has something to do with Marik and by the end of the next chapter you'll see exactly what. You can expect this new chapter sometime between this week and the next.**


	2. Linger

**Since this is a plot and character driven, long running story I realized a back-story/informational chapter was essential (much to my dismay ;A; ) Ever since the Bleach and Naruto animes. I've hated backstory arcs but hopefully I've written this one well enough to keep me out of that category. Please rate and tell me how I did. **

Akefia remembered the first time he saw the outskirts of this town. His heart sunk when the ocean of sand ahead reminded him of the ordeal he went through to get there; the day he arrived on the very spot he now stood.

A ball of brown, white, and a little red lay curled in the sands of his mind, crying without a soul to hear him. The wet dirt and bloodstains caked onto the child's face dried his skin and made his face hurt but the pain was not enough to distract the poor boy from the firestorm that raged on in his heart. Afraid of the dark clouds of death that loomed over the land he had no choice but to leave the only home he'd ever known. The air lay thick in his lungs, making it hard for the small boy to run.

Akefia kicked the sand with his toe; he really didn't want to be there.

"Hey Akefia," said Sheeba walking up behind him, "I see you've gotten here early."

"Or maybe you're just late." Akefia grouched.

"You can't tell me you're still mad about yesterday, are you?"

Akefia spat at Sheeba's feet. Sheeba got the picture. She walked in front of him blocking Akefia's view of the sandy horizon.

"You know, you'll never impress me with that attitude."

"And you'll never impress me so long as your heart keeps beating."

"How cold," Sheeba said in a pouty tone turning her head to show Akefia her fluttering eyelashes, "I don't want you to think of me as the enemy."

"You don't? Okay then, hand over the dagger." there was a sharpness to his words.

"No way!"

"Then I guess that makes you my enemy." Akefia sneered.

"If I recall correctly it was you who tried to rob me."

"And you succeeded! Therefore, you can't shoulder all the blame on me."

"Oh yeah I can."

"Like what? All you've got is that shitty dagger!"

"Check again!"

Akefia thought for a moment then frantically searched his waistband. Sheeba chuckled and flashed a wallet right in front of Akefia.

"Looking for something?"

"How did you-"

"If you were a decent thief you'd at least be able to keep your own pockets from being picked. Here's a tip: stop staring at my ass." Sheeba threw Akefia his wallet knowing the dagger would be enough.

"But I didn't feel a thing! How did you get my wallet?" Sheeba laughed at Akefia's sudden interest in her making Akefia feel stupid, "You little whore."

"You couldn't possibly mean that." Sheeba said in a mock-hurt tone, "Oh well, it's a nice dagger. Maybe I could get a decent price if I sold it to one of the pharaoh's dogs."

Akefia silenced himself.

"Much better." Sheeba said then she turned around to properly face Akefia.

"What now?" Akefia grumbled.

"Now we make a deal." Sheeba said patting the dagger at her waistband. Akefia didn't need her to remind him of his screw up from last night. By now he was sick of the games she played. He gave Sheeba a cold glare from the corner of his eye.

"I refuse."

"Come on," Sheeba urged, "you wouldn'tve even been in this situation if you hadn't tried to rob me. It's not like you can throw he blame on me 'cause if you do you're going to find it hard to get your precious dagger back."

Akefia remained silent as he watched over Sheeba's waistband as if his will alone might make it fall within his reach.

"You're hopeless." She groaned throwing her head in her palms, "I get it, this dagger means something important to you. But it's not like you can expect me to excuse you for what you did. Akefia, I don't like being stolen from. If you think it would help, you could tell me why this blade is so special."

Once more Akefia found himself drifting through his childhood. He saw his mother and father and he held tight to them. Out of breath and with tears stinging his eyes he tried to warn them of the dangers he now knew. They couldn't hear him. The past could not be changed. Behind him Akefia could hear the hoof beats of horses pierce through the night at frightening speeds. He tried to push his parents to move but they wouldn't budge. Something sharp struck near him, one after the other, on both sides. Before Akefia realized what it was his parents fell dead. He turned around to see none other than a solider of the pharaoh on a fierce black stallion. He dived for the sand just in time not to be trampled. Akefia stayed there pretending to be dead, too afraid to do anything else. Once the dust of the attack had cleared he pulled the dagger from his father's back. His mind in shambles, Akefia got on his knees and screamed out in agony.

Akefia snapped back to reality where Sheeba was waiting impatiently for an answer.

"I have nothing to tell the likes of you, don't even ask."

"Fine, it's not like I care as long as it keeps you obedient." she said with an evil smirk.

"So what do you need me to do?"

"Oh... only your average breaking and entering, taking out some security here and there, then a full out assassination. No biggie."

"Exactly what the hell are you involved with."

"Never mind that, all you need to do is be there doing exactly as I say. If you could help me, just this once, I gladly return what is yours. Do we have a deal?"

"What choice do you leave me?" He sighed, "Yeah, I guess I'm in."

Sheeba grinned and reached out her hand which, Akefia noted, was covered in tattoos. He half wondered if he was supposed to shake it or just look on from a safe distance. He never quite liked tattoos. It was obvious that Sheeba did. Finally he took Sheeba's hand and sealed the deal much like the deal he would make with her thousands of years later...

**This chapter was interesting since I questioned a few of my readers before making a final draft of this. I asked them what they think would happen (all of them had totally different ideas than myself but I think I did a good job to make both myself and the readers happy.) Anyways R&R and don't be afraid to tell me what you think happens next!**


	3. Mirage part 1

**Please read the bold text below**

**I understand some of you have been complaining this is OC X Thief king... well it's not. Sheeba is actually someone's past life. If you can't figure whose, read some of the more flamboyant thief fics and take a wild-ass guess. If you don't like the fact that Sheeba is a woman and therefore doesn't have a dick then hold on, all your little fantasies of hardcore citron will eventually come to light. All I ask is you give me some time. Another thing I should get across, BEFORE ALOT OF TIME PASSES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE STORY, is that Akefia is no older than 19 in the first few chapters. I thought this was implied to an extent by him not yet focused on revenge for the pharaoh or the lack of reference to his partner Diabound. In other words, he is young. That's why he isn't the best thief and got pocketed by some random stranger. This story is not a story of how the thief king kicks ass and takes names but rather his assent ion to greatness. Give me time; he'll whoop ass like it's nobody's business. More will be explained about Sheeba in HER chapter but for now you'll have to make your wild guesses.**

"So hot... feet killing me..." moaned Sheeba slinging her heeled sandals over her shoulder, "I almost forgot how dreadful this stretch of desert could be."

"It wouldn't feel as hot if you would keep mouth shut for five minutes."

"I don't see how that would help."

"It would keep in some of that hot air!" Akefia sneered.

Sheeba was to hot and sticky to argue. Instead she grabbed one of her sandals and threw it at Akefia. It missed... by a mile. The two had been walking for days and she was at her end.

"What's wrong, Sheeba? Can't take a little heat?" Akefia snorted.

"I can take the heat," Sheeba mumbled slinking over to her sandal, "it's all this Radamned walking!"

"If I remember correctly, the nearest town is at least two days away from here." Akefia said watching closely how Sheeba reacted. The slump in her shoulders, the weight in her steps, she was beginning to slip. He had tried to pick back his dagger several hundred times since Sheeba had taken it and had been examining Sheeba's condition- judging if it was safe to make a grab for his dagger secured at her waist- ever since. As far as he saw, she was as prone as she'd ever be. He slowly inched closer to Sheeba who seemed too tired to notice. Just as he was about to make a grab she stopped causing him to crash right into her.

"Don't tell me you need to take a break." Akefia grumbled.

"No, look!" Sheeba said pointing her finger out ahead; it was the outskirts of a city. Akefia was surprised he hadn't seen it sooner; it blocked most of his view leaving no room in his vision to see around it. He thought that it may be a mirage painted out brilliantly by the gods in a convincing attempt to fool him. Sheeba grabbed Akefia by the cloak and dragged him closer to get a better look.

Where ever they had arrived it seemed to be in the middle of a festival, brightly colored blankets acted as tarps for various vendor stands. Brightly dressed women and children paraded down the streets as villagers applauded and cheered. Bright beautiful decorations hung from the windows and doors of the houses.

"Look at it all!" Sheeba said her fatigued expression instantly dissolving. Her fingers had tangled themselves in Akefia's cloak in her excitement.

"I see, I see." Akefia said pulling Sheeba's fingers away.

"I've never seen a celebration this big!"

Akefia shuddered thinking the same thing. He remembered traveling a lot as a child and never running into something quite this huge. Something must've happened in the time he had left. It was a great opportunity for a thief familiar with this town to make a move. Akefia being unfamiliar to his environment couldn't help but worry about the well-being of the dagger in the hands of Sheeba.

"Don't leave my side." He whispered to Sheeba who was eyeing a pair of earrings at a vendor's stall.

"Awww!" She teased, "I didn't think you cared so much about me."

"I could care less about you," Akefia mumbled, "hold on tight to my dagger. And, please, try to make things quick."

"I'll try my best." Sheeba said sounding like a soldier speaking to a drill sergeant. She turned back to the booth and begun picking things up and trying things on. Akefia sighed; he knew they would be there for a while. He decided it would be best to keep a close eye on Sheeba while watching for potential thieves.

Akefia tried his hardest looking natural as he guarded Sheeba. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the stall, he even tried pretending to browse. Nothing happened, no thieves could be seen. Still, he couldn't keep from feeling like pairs of small beady eyes were hiding right around the bend, waiting for him to break his defenses. If there were any thieves lurking on the streets Akefia knew they wouldn't strike as long as he was around.

He looked over at Sheeba who was still on her first stall. She had tried out nearly everything the merchant had to offer liking some, wanting others, but buying nothing. Akefia wondered why she didn't just steal it. She seemed capable enough seeing how she stole the dagger from him. After waiting what seemed like an eternity he gave Sheeba a nudge.

"Can I help you?" She said with sparkly bangles littering her arms.

"Why not take it?" Akefia whispered.

"The bangles?"

"Anything! You're a thief aren't you?"

"Correction, I'm a gypsy and a rouge. You're the thief." She slid the bangles off and picked up a small gold band with a huge purple stone at its center. She shoved it in Akefia's face as if he couldn't see it clearly enough and held it up to her eyes showing the uncanny resemblance. Sheeba nodded to the vender and handed him the necessary amount of coins. She slid the ring on her finger and admired it.

"That was a lot of money for one pathetic ring." Akefia scoffed.

"You have to realize," she said as they moved away from the stall a few miles down the road, "there's more to life than just stealing."

When they were far enough from the jewelers stand she bent down and began fiddling with something on her leg. Akefia realized immediately what she had done. She placed the gold headband she had pulled from a strap on her leg onto her head and let it shine in the sunlight. From her shoes she then pulled a pair of huge gold earrings and clipped them into her ears.

"More to life you say? Looks like you went to town."

"It's only the bare essentials." She said adjusting her hair to fit her new accessories.

"So are we done here?"

"Hmm..." Sheeba said looking around, "Lunch first, then two more stalls."

"You promise?"

"I _promise_." Sheeba said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Akefia didn't trust her and he had every right not to. Before he knew it (at the seventh stall or so) Sheeba was nowhere to be seen.

**At first I planned to have this chapter be... (What like one page long?) and be done with it but unfortunately I had to throw in some crazy fight scenes. As a result, this is one of two this one being the shorter of them.**


	4. Mirage part 2

**Sorry about the wait. Fight scene! And boy did I whip it up good this time. I actually took the time, repeating what I wrote in slow motion, describing it as I went to make sure each action word fit. I ended up having more fun writing this than Mirage part 1. Any-hoo... enjoy!**

"Radamn it woman!" Akefia cursed retracing his steps. He was half fearful she may lose the dagger to whatever thieves lay lurking in the city and half afraid she would sell it. In a city as big as this one it seemed easy to lose track of things. He figured it were only a matter of time before he had completely lost her.

Meanwhile Sheeba was at peace with Akefia out of her hair for a change. _He's probably off plotting somewhere,_ she thought, _that idiot. He'll never get this dagger so long as I'm holding it. Though I must admit, if he's tailing me he's being pretty quiet about it... unlike the two pursuing me._

Sheeba pretended not to notice slight echo in her steps or slight motion from the shadows. Instead she kept a poker face and carried on with her "shopping." She hoped that her pursuers would eventually get tired with her and move on. She wanted them to know she was a far cry from an easy target.

After a couple hours her pursuers remained consistent, never once letting up or turning their back. When Sheeba grew tired playing with them she picked up her pace. She turned her pursuers down every main street in the city and then some. She pushed them to the point where they couldn't help but be seen once or twice. Once she knew what she was up against she made a sharp turn and stopped.

"Shit!" She cursed examining the dead end she turned onto. As if on cue her pursuers appeared like clouds of steam behind her.

"We got you now," said the larger of the two revealing a blade from the inside of his cloak, "You can either hand over your wallet now or we'll have to take it."

Sheeba turned around laughing hysterically, "You think _you_ caught me?"

"You have nowhere to escape."

"And neither do you." Sheeba said charging at the larger of the two. She moved swift as lightning leaving little time to react and knocked her stalker to the ground with such a tremendous force he lost his breath. From him she quickly transitioned into a charge for the smaller one as she threw him onto the wall of a nearby building.

"You two remind me of another thief," She said choking the smaller boy with her arm, "tell me, are all the thieves in this country this pitiful?"

The larger one returned to his feet and pulled out his dagger. He charged for Sheeba in blind rage.

"Simply pathetic." In one fluid motion Sheeba used her palm to deflect the direction of the dagger upward releasing the smaller thief. She slid between the two out of the way just in time so that the larger thief had almost stabbed his partner in the head. Sheeba had won... or so she though.

The smaller of the two, with his partner hanging over him, took advantage of the moment and rammed his partner in the chest knocking him onto Sheeba. Sheeba, who was completely off her guard, struggled to save herself mid-fall. She broke the heel of her sandal and twisted her heel in the process as she hit the ground hard. The smaller one made a dive for her coin pouch, which had fallen onto the ground, and made a dash out of the ally way.

"Damn." Sheeba said pulling herself up. She slammed the remaining thief hard to the floor as he tried himself to stand then ran after the purse thief.

He wasn't hard to follow; he tried to travel against the flow of the crowd a sport that Sheeba was good at. Running with a broken heel? Now that's a whole other story. Now and then she'd fumble and give the thief whatever ground she managed to gain. Luckily for her Akefia was close by.

"Watch it!" He shouted when she crashed into him, when he realized it was Sheeba his expression and tone changed, "What's the rush? Did something happen?"

"Thief... my purse!" She said out of breath. When Akefia finally figured out that she didn't mean him he lifted Sheeba onto his back and followed after the thief.

Sheeba was shocked to see how quickly Akefia could run. Part of this was due to his brute strength and size. Anyone who was in the way was abruptly pushed to the side. In a matter of minutes they had the thief cornered in yet another alleyway.

Sheeba found herself being flung from Akefia's back as he rushed right into battle.

"I c-come with a m-message," the thief stammered when he saw the dark lines of Akefia's muscles, "For the woman. It's none of your business."

"Oh yeah?" Akefia hissed, "Well I have a message for you."

Akefia lifted the thief off the ground and shook him until his face went green then dropped him and kicked the thief before he had time to stand up. Once he was sure the child would stay down he grabbed everything in the boy's pockets claiming everything except Sheeba's coin pouch which he tossed to her. Then he moved on to the thief's cloak. With one mighty pull he had ripped it off exposing a small scared boy underneath as well as a couple more pouches and a peculiar tattoo.

"It's a lizard," Akefia said puzzled, "Like the one on your lower back."

"Where?" Sheeba said rushing over.

"You know him?" Akefia said examining the tattoo, "Is he family or something?"

Akefia never got an answer for in a matter of seconds Sheeba was on top of the thief with her fingers clenched tightly around his throat.

"WHO SENT YOU?" She screamed sounding like a demon as she shook him lifeless, "WHAT THE HELL DOU YOU WANT FROM ME?"

"Don't know... promised food... my family..." the thief gasped, "mercy..."

"Sheeba cut it out," Akefia said grabbing her shoulder, "he'll die."

"Fuck off!" Sheeba said shaking Akefia off, "This isn't your business!"

Sheeba released the boy's neck and retrieved Akefia's dagger from the very purse Akefia had returned holding it to the thief's throat. She slid it across his neck breaking skin and drawing blood. Both the thief and Akefia winced.

"Now tell me who sent you!" She ordered poking the tip of the blade on the thief's neck.

"I don't know! I heard a voice... he promised food and-"

"What did he sound like?"

"Sort of scratchy... older."

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Sheeba screamed raising the dagger about to make a stab. Akefia could take it no more. He lunged at Sheeba clutching tight to her hand. He tried to pry the dagger from her hand but saw that in her rage he was no match. She thrashed and bit at Akefia as the thief got up and escaped. Akefia waited patiently for Sheeba to collect herself.

"You could've told me it was in your purse," Akefia said in his usual way as an attempt to distract her. He felt sorry for the person he saw before him, scrappy blonde hair in messy tangles, black eyeliner pouring down the side of her face.

"You never asked." Sheeba said with an empty smirk.

**Mm-kay, so I know you've got a lot of questions at this point. Don't worry! The next chapter (which may turn out longer than this one) will answer at least half of them. There is still the time old question "how is this citron shipping? There's no gay porn!" Well never fear! The best parts are yet to come (unless you are REALLY expecting hardcore yaoi) when I start explaining tomb keepers in the next few chapters.**


	5. Steam part 1

**Yes, another two part chapter... sorry. Oh and BTW, I don't own Yugioh. I've been forgetting to say that probably violating a gazillion copyright laws. Also, if you read this please R&R about my story pacing. Am I too slow? Too fast? **

"I asked for weapons," Sheeba said pinching the flimsy blade of a kitchen knife between her polished finger tips, "and here you bring common cutlery."

"Then why don't you do the scavenging?" Akefia grumbled tired from a long day under Sheeba's orders.

"Because I have my hands full with other things at the moment. The whole village is crawling with the little bastards! I don't have the room to breathe."

"You mean your ink-heads? Why can't I just take their weapons?"

"Call us ink-heads one more time and I'll slit your neck."

"I wouldn't have to if you would tell me who they are." Akefia said plopping himself down in the sand next to Sheeba.

"That's not what I hired you for."

"And what would that be again? If I remember correctly you mentioned an assassination. How can I help kill someone if I don't even know the guy?... or why you want to kill him at that."

Sheeba refused to say a word causing an exaggeratedly loud groan to escape Akefia's mouth as he threw up his arms and dropped to his back.

"How much longer will this take?"

"It takes a while to formulate tools out of items as useless as these. I would've had this finished sooner if you were a better thief. Hell, this whole operation would run a lot more smoothly if I didn't have to drag you along."

"Drag me along?" Akefia said in roaring laughter, "If anything I have to put up with you and your daily dramas. If you hate me so Radamned much return my dagger and I'll gladly leave."

"Tempting, but no." she sighed, Sheeba knew better. He'd sooner stab her till her veins drained dry as the desert sands. The moment the dagger returned to its master's hands it would shred through her skin like cloth. For that, Sheeba hated him.

Since he was of less use to her than a nuisance, Sheeba knew that she would either have to kill him or ditch him. She looked at Akefia who was now lying in the sand on his back with his eyes gently closed and an arid breeze tossing dusty strands of hair across his sweat soaked face. _It's ironic_, Sheeba thought to herself letting a half-smile show on her lips, _that I don't have it in my heart to kill you... no, not today._

Sheeba moved to her feet sweeping off the sand from her skirt and looked over to Akefia. His eyes fluttered open in curiosity.

"Come on," Sheeba said with a sudden freshness, "let's pack up camp and head into town."

"Town? I thought you said it was crawling with... the enemy."

"Yeah, it is," Sheeba said cracking her joints and stretching, "But I'm done with sitting around feeling restless."

"Your mood changes quick."

"Would you LIKE me to be angry?"

"Never mind." He shoved his hands deep into his coat pockets as he walked over to the tents. Sheeba, of course, did nothing to help the poor thief pack up. For that, Akefia hated her. He was already over the fact that she took his treasured dagger, though it didn't mean he cared less, but the constant slave labor and ridicule she subjected him to made his face glow red with spite. Since day one Sheeba has reminded Akefia that she does not wish to become his enemy. Akefia thought it was a little too late for that.

If it weren't for the fact that Sheeba was "_the biggest ass-hole on earth_" Akefia might actually enjoy her company. She had fierce energetic stare that could set a man on fire, she could flirt a man penny less with her sharp charisma, and when the moon was high in the night's sky and the firelight illuminated her face, Akefia could laugh and drink with her like a childhood friend.

That Sheeba was rare compared to the monster before him.

"Hurry up," Sheeba urged, "I want to get back before sun fall"

"Okay, okay!" Akefia said slinging their packs over his shoulder before heading in the direction of town.

Once at the entrance Sheeba took off running, something Akefia was used to at this point.

"Stay close!" he ordered as usual already knowing that she'd fall out of his radar in a matter of minutes.

"Mm-kay!" Sheeba shouted from the distance.

"Radamn it woman." Akefia hissed to himself feeling older than he should've felt. Rather than chasing after her, Akefia hung his head in defeat.

_I swear to the gods this woman will be my demise, _Akefia thought to himself as he slowly made his way toward Sheeba. He pushed and shoved through the crowds of busy Egyptians like a fish swimming upstream a nasty current.

"Sorry... pardon me..." Akefia almost stopped in his tracks realizing he was being courteous. _Yeah... my demise._

Yet again she had him wandering through a maze of streets and alleyways with nothing to go by but the tantalizing smell of her skin. After nine long hours of searching Akefia had to rest. He watched helplessly as the sun sunk lower in the sky and the horizon started burning with a blinding red glare, signaling days end and the little time he had left to find her. _If I ever catch up to her I'll make her pay._

Akefia finally caught up to Sheeba at the entrance of what appeared to be a bath house.

"Oh Akefia!" She said in playful surprise, "I was starting to think you had forgotten about me."

"I wish." he snorted in disgust.

"I've been waiting patiently all day for you to find me at this very spot." Sheeba pointed her finger down at her feet to further stress her claims.

"Sure whatever."

"I found a key connection for my pretty little plan and she's right here in this bath house."

"Then why don't you fetch her yourself? Why bother put the strain on me?"

"I can't bathe with your dagger on me, and since you so clearly are a man of great knowledge when it comes to attracting females, I thought you would be the perfect candidate. All you have to do is swim on over to her, put your arm around her shoulders, give her a little kiss, and BAM! She's yours! Then you can lead her to me for questioning."

"The catch?" Akefia eyed the door of the bath house cautiously half expecting knives to fly out at him. This was Sheeba he was dealing with and he wouldn't put it past her to pull such a trick. On the other hand upon entering he may be shocked to find yet another lizard tattoo there to drag him down under until his lungs gave up on him. So many possibilities, all of them well within Sheeba's character.

"What catch? There is no catch." She grinned snaking her arm gently over Akefia's upper back causing him to shiver.

Akefia knew better but with little room to argue he agreed, "Give me an hour minimum. Wait for me until then. If I'm not back in three then come get me."

"Okie dokie." Sheeba called after him, her fingers crossed behind her back.

**And sorry noodle-heart, I lied. Sheeba hasn't pissed me off yet. The REAL piss off is part 2.**


	6. Steam part 2

**I feel like Akefia has matured a great deal in this chapter and no this is not sarcasm. Yeah sure, he's still a bit of a hussy with an addiction to pretty women and an idiot thief but the way he deals with this situation makes me feel so proud. Warning: this chapter gets VERY violent.**

Akefia covered his mouth; it was all he could do to keep from choking on the thick steam that danced in his face upon entering the bath house. Unsure what was accustomed at such a place he followed the lead of the man who entered before him and grabbed a drying cloth from a nearby basket. As much as it pained him, Akefia parted from his grimy garb and traded it for the towel. Not sure of a safe place to set his clothes and trusting no one he hid his clothes behind the comfort of a decorative vase.

Once inside the main room Akefia felt no better. He was stranger to the hot water quickly pulling away when his toe hit the surface for the first time. This earned him a giggle from a group of women bathing nearby. In a bath house there is only the raw exposure of skin, no shadows to hide in. Akefia forced himself in further in not wanting to draw any more attention to himself if at all possible. He added baths, along with Sheeba, to his already long list of hate. Thankfully, this task could bring him closer to getting his dagger. He vowed to make things as quick as he could.

The target was a strange looking woman with obvious Roman lurking in her blood for her hair fell in gorgeous dark curls that defied the will of the water keeping shape even under its weight. She was beautiful in a curious way that had Akefia dumb founded at first glance. She was sitting alone in a corner trying in all its futility to hide her timid beauty in the waves of steam rising around her. Akefia drew closer slowly as he could not to disturb her. She noticed him right off but, as if frozen to the very spot, remained in her corner. When he obtained reaching distance he paused as if she were a bird ready to take flight the moment he broke too deep into her personal space.

"Hello there." She chirped nervously eyeing the strangers face, taking a long stare at Akefia's scar last of all. Akefia didn't know quite what to say, the situation was delicate.

"It's a long story," he said choosing the scar as the safest way to break the ice, Akefia hated dragging his past into this but part of him wanted to spill everything to the little bird before him, "I would tell you, but I'm not quite sure how."

"I'm so sorry, I-"

"Don't worry, you're not the first person to ask, I'm used to it." he gently took her hand and traced it over the indent on his cheek.

"Oh..." She said blushing. She turned her face away from Akefia then back up.

"So why are you over here all alone? It's a shame you're not mingled with the crowds. Beauty such as yours deserves to be shared."

"Why should I? They mock me for my... mixed descent. They call my mother a whore and my father a-" the little bird stopped herself realizing she had said too much as most little birds tend to do. Catching the little bird was a different story. Birds were quick and cautious and this bird was no exception.

"Then they're fools." Akefia said playing the "sensitive guy" card. He almost had her; he could read it in her eyes.

"Really?"

"We have much in common, you and I. I think your differences are what help make you all the more stunning," Akefia slid his arm around her shoulder, closing the distance, "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Help..."

"What kind of name is hel-" suddenly it all sunk in.

"HELP! MY LOVE!"

It seemed the woman hadn't come alone. A man in his drying cloth came running out of the changing area with fumes erupting from his ears. He was a muscular Egyptian man with a rock solid face and a look in his eyes that could kill.

"You!" he roared as he pointed a fat finger at Akefia.

Akefia retracted his arm from the little bird, who was splashing and throwing herself about in protest, and zipped from the bath with reflexes like a frightened cat. He made a slide right under the man heading for the direction of his clothes behind the vase then repeated this feat once more before exiting. The man of stone followed close behind but with less dexterity. Having no time to properly fit his clothes Akefia settled with wearing only the bath towel as he ran through town searching for a place to hide. Every now and then he could feel the breath of an angry beast burn at his neck.

Not once did he run into Sheeba, as expected. Akefia knew from the moment she spoke this was a set up, he felt like a fool for hoping he was wrong and even more so now that he was being chased through the village half naked. The cries of a desperate thief and an angry husband could be heard from every street and every house for miles. It carried on the wind and took to the skies so that Sheeba may hear it wherever she may be so she could smile and laugh at her genius work, but Sheeba was not laughing.

There were ten this time, "ink heads" as a certain thief would say, and they were circling Sheeba like a pack of starving wolves. Their black hoods cast even blacker shadows in the setting sun.

"What do you want?" Asked Sheeba in a low growl.

She didn't receive an answer, the "ink heads" didn't need to give one. She could tell they were sent there to kill her, the thought that they would try such a thing amused her. She drew Akefia's dagger humoring them in their ignorance. If it was a fight they wanted they were certainly going to get one.

The first one to make a move was lucky to make contact. He grazed Sheeba's shoulder as she spun round taking out both her assailant and the guy behind her in one sharp flash of steel. Grinning something wicked, like a naughty child bubbling over with a mischievous secret, as her eyes met her assailant's, blood splattering up her arms when the dagger ran through his throat. Removing the dagger she spun around to rip another guy to shreds. Then, sliding forward, she made a spit second upper cut to the man trying to fill a dead man's space.

With four men in under a minute the others started to pull back just out of Sheeba's reach. Sheeba had to admit, fighting distance wasn't her comfort zone, but it didn't slow her down.

"I see what you're trying to do..." Sheeba said in a playful snarl, "And it won't work. I use to eat through twenty block-heads like you every day when I was in charge. I don't need to be close to kill you."

Again the attackers didn't respond. Sheeba was growing impatient. Sheeba clutched Akefia's dagger tight for a moment before throwing it at the chest of the nearest man killing him. The remaining five took this as a sign to move in. They surrounded Sheeba without a moment's notice. With all the momentum and energy she needed Sheeba weaved around jabs and slashes and directed them at other "ink heads." When the dust had cleared every "ink head" was dead.

"I'd never let it be that easy." Sheeba said to herself before spitting on a corpse. She walked over to the body still wearing Akefia's blood soaked dagger like bad jewelry. She decided to keep it since it's only helped her so far. One small part of her, small enough she took no notice, hoped that holding on to the dagger may lead her to find out why Akefia was so attached to it. Sheeba turned her back to the town, dagger in hand, feeling almost guilty. She tried to convince herself all was well, that's when she felt a breath on her neck.

"Face me." Said a deep voice long forgotten by Sheeba. It was deep and booming like thunder and it filled the air, coving Sheeba and giving her goose bumps.

"I can't." She said closing her eyes.

"Then I shall carve away the mark bestowed to you for the bravery you now lack." He was talking about the lizard tattoo on Sheeba's lower back, like the one on the side of his face, "You will walk the earth with a cowards wound so that all may see you're shame."

Sheeba ducked down quickly as a knife cut the tips of some of her hair. She had no choice now but to turn around and face the man she had once called brother.

"Rishid..." She said wanting to say something more meaningful but not finding the words.

"I see you still wear the face you've used to hide yourself in the past. I'm surprised you haven't traded it for a new one."

"And I'm surprised you turn you blade on your own kin." She braved moving close to Rishid, she grabbed him by the cloak and pulled their faces closer still. Her jagged breath filled the silence between them as they took turns trying to read each others eyes. Whatever Rishid's cold analytical eyes saw it must not have been the right thing because in a matter of seconds he had pinned Sheeba in the sand and was beating her down to a pulp. Whenever Sheeba saw an opening to crawl away Rishid would kick her in the gut and pound her face in.

"That's enough!" Shouted none other than Akefia getting bored with the show. While walking the road to the outskirts of the village looking for Sheeba he managed to stumble across this unpleasant scene. Due to the recent events Akefia wasn't sure whether or not to help her or not.

"Were you watching this whole time?" Sheeba said, her "s" sounds whistled through a newly made gap in her teeth. She tried to turn her head to face him but her head seemed too heavy and her eyes too swollen.

"Long enough to see you get the shit beat out of you by baldie here. I was afraid you were, dunno, actually trying to ditch me here without returning to me my dagger but thankfully the blood smears and corpses tell me otherwise." Akefia said grimly smirking when Rishid got up off Sheeba to face him.

"Will you try to stop me?"

"I might," said Akefia with a cocky grin, "I just hope you can entertain me."

"No," Sheeba said with a struggle, "this is not your fight."

Akefia ignored her and knocked Rishid off Sheeba tumbling with him in the sand. It wasn't an easy fight, especially since Rishid was much bigger than him but at least Sheeba was safe. Akefia was worried that Rishid might have actually ended up killing her if it weren't for his sudden intervention.

"Stop it!" shrieked Sheeba crawling toward the scene.

"Earth to Sheeba," Akefia said while dodging blows to the head, "he was trying to kill you!"

"Why do you care if he does or doesn't? I stole your dagger!"

"Quit reminding me," Akefia managed to knee Rishid in the gut buying him some time, "But that still doesn't make what he's doing right."

"Since when did you start caring what's wrong and right? You're a thief!" Sheeba's voice grew hoarser with each word she tried so desperately to shout.

"Why can't you just accept my help?"

"Because I hate you!" She said getting both Akefia and Rishid to stop, she coughed up blood at the dagger she threw but was unwilling to stop there, "And I set you up so I could get away without you trying to stop me."

"See now?" Said Rishid to Akefia making Sheeba's burn feel worse to him, "She is nothing more than scum."

"Why?" He fell to his knees with a blank look on his face then Akefia glared at Sheeba with a hate like never before. Sheeba couldn't return his look, she felt unworthy. Akefia had trusted Sheeba, an act of kindness as typically unrecieved by Sheeba as it was ungiven by Akefia. And now, with the ugly "truth" left out in the open, Akefia and Sheeba both realized they may have been, in a loose interpretation of the word, friends.

"You may take this," Rishid offered Akefia his dagger, "you could end her life here and now."

"I could," Akefia said accepting the token; he looked to the dagger then to Sheeba.

She was the definition of a wreck. She lay shredded like a thin cloth in the sand, still hopelessly picking up the biggest pieces of her honor and pride she could find. She was weaker now than Akefia had ever seen a person be. Akefia almost pitied her. He turned to Rishid with a new determination in his eyes.

"But she's not the worst of them."

Akefia knifed Rishid right through the chest.

**Answers? Well next chapter I can finally get things cleared up! And, is it just me, or when you leave a chapter alone for a week then check back on it you find so many mistakes and holes? Please R&R to tell me if I've succeeded at this strange human device called suspense and left you all with lots of wonderful unanswered questions.**


	7. Listen

**Hello kind people of Fanfiction and Merry Christmas! As of recently I've been trolled pretty badly by a person on tumblr who claims to be the god critic on all things bad of yugioh fiction. She has posted many excerpts from some of my friend's and my favorite fics as well as our own. She has been pretty good about not using names on her quotes, hell I found this all on pure luck, but that means only the writers of the fic will feel the burn. Most readers don't even realize these quotes are from their followed fics. I talked to her to ask her to at least write an honest review so that I can get her full opinion on why the fic sucks in her "all mighty eyes" but she stopped talking to me altogether and I did not get any sort of review so I could correct anything. Because of these events I am contemplating whether or not to continue writing. For now the answer seems like no. My apologies- Zombiedevil.**

"I-I didn't mean to kill him." Sheeba said looking in horror at their old boss who now lay in a bloody mess under the rubble from a collapsed wall, "He was hurting you! Because of something I did! I didn't wish him dead."

"You were brutal." Remarked an onlooker.

"Are you really an apprentice class? He's out cold."

"You were like lightning! If I would have blinked I would have missed it."

"Who's this kid's master?"

All the chatter made the room spin for Sheeba as she looked at her soiled hands.

"You didn't go easy on him, that's for sure," Rishid said hobbling over to examine the scene.

"What do I do now," Sheeba whispered, "There's a dead guy and there's his _eyeball _andit'sgrossandstickyanditsmellsli kebllodandeverybody'sstaringandtheeyeballand-"

"Relax, and don't show them any weakness or they will react. They're just as scared as you without someone to guide them."

Sheeba gulped in a huge breath almost knocking herself out in the process then she thought about it. She was the one who killed him. That must have meant she was to be the leader of "the Hunters." The thought turned her mortification into myrrh and a flame blazed deep in her eyes.

"So who's it going to be?" She asked; excited as the men and woman watching the scene started to voice the same thought, "Who will lead our little Mob?"

"Not you," Rishid said reading putting out the firelight in Sheeba's eyes, "After all this you think it'd be a good idea to put you in charge? You're still too young."

"Aw come on!" Sheeba noticed the people in the crowds turning their ears in them. It felt weird to her... were they on her side? If she were to demand the position would they help her take it? Hunters were bloodthirsty mongrels driven by fighting; they only wanted the strongest to lead. Since the leader beat Rishid and Sheeba beat the leader... would they listen to her if she ordered them to?

"A moment ago you were near tears! If you were leader you'd have to kill many more like him."

"No fair! I killed the man!"

"You say that like you're proud, what a sickening change of heart. I'll be the leader and that's that. You are my apprentice. I took responsibility for your faults. Now I am claiming that responsibility once more. Sheeba, this is for your safety and yours alone."

"Yeah... whatever."

Rishid pointed to a seal displayed on the dead man's chest and motioned Sheeba to get it. Sheeba was reluctant but nodded and, while trying to look intimidating, she retrieved the seal from the old leader's chest. Rishid took the mark as proud as a lion and pinned it to his shirt.

"Thank you, my apprentice." He boomed loud enough to catch the crowd's attention. Seeing that Rishid claimed the throne they cheered for him and parted as he passed through them. Sheeba was left behind; her moment of fame was reduced to nothing.

"Protect?" She spat to the empty room, "I'll give you something to protect."

"So your group... the ink heads?" Akefia was already lost.

"The hunters." Sheeba said annoyed, "You asked me to tell you what's going on. You barged into my tent without warning!"

"It's a Ra-damned tent!"

"You invaded my privacy, you owe me an apology!"

"Sorry princess ain't happening. Besides, you acted like a real jerk the other day."

"Fine! But the least you could do is pay attention."

"Yeah... but it's so long and boring." Akefia was drawing circles in the sand.

"We were an organized crime gang! I killed a guy! How do you not get that!?"

"It sounds like a whole bunch of drama to me. Skip to the part where you get your ass handed to you by that new leader guy."

"How can you be so dense?"

"I learn from the best. Never mind that, continue."

She had everything she could ever need, power, fame, but that was never enough for Sheeba. She wanted Rishid to fight her for the leader position, Rishid always denied her this. Sheeba thought he was too afraid, she got cocky (not much surprise there) and told everybody she could that Rishid was too cowardly to fight his own apprentice. For the most part, nobody cared enough to listen but there were always one or two who'd end up complaining to Rishid. Rishid was getting so irritated; he gave in and gave her the fight under the condition that it was to be in private.

"Too afraid someone will see you lose." Sheeba said as she marched with Rishid to their secret training spot.

"I'm more afraid for you," He said feeling hurt, "You have misread me yet again. I really do mean to keep you safe."

The two stood tall in the arena as they shook hands. When the sun was just touching the tip of the sandy western hills the two let loose in intensive fury. Sheeba would hit some, too quickly for even Rishid's mighty defenses, causing him to have to slowly pull back and think his moves through. Eventually he had her figured out and, after a small slip up on Sheeba's part, began beating the arrogance right out of her.

"I win." Rishid had said when he had finally pinned her. The flooding darkness of the night had Sheeba struggling for breath.

"How?" Sheeba had been wrong all along, Rishid had been holding much back. She didn't deserve anything that Rishid helped get her since his coming to power and she certainly didn't deserve his post.

"It doesn't matter." Rishid's eyes looked right through Sheeba as if she were glass. He pitied what he saw.

"Then why didn't you kill him sooner? You could have been leader long, long ago."

"Kill a man once and you're a tainted soul. As much as I wanted you to join I knew this would eventually happen. The world cannot run on killing and hurting. I may not be the best example of this but you have to realize the difference between defending yourself and picking fights. I picked you up as an orphan because you already knew this; I saw it in your eyes. I was hoping that someday, criminal or not, you would find a way to teach the world that very lesson. Now you turn your blade on kin. I am ashamed."

"I did act a little foolishly."

"And now you're left with a lesson you won't soon forget," Rishid took Sheeba's hand and helped her up to her feet, "And that's why I'm handing down the title to you."

"Wait what?" Sheeba thought she was going crazy or at least dreaming. She scraped a layer of dirt out of her ear canals to make sure she was hearing correctly.

"You heard me."

"No I didn't because if I did I'm sure you wouldn't have said I could be leader. I didn't earn it! I have footprints where you literally trampled me flat."

"Losing isn't as bad as being an arrogant, selfish, whiney, lazy, conniving-"

"I get it."

"I just have to point it out that Rishid was totally right about you, to the needle point."

"Shut up! I'm trying to get to the end of the Ra damned story."

"Well hurry it along its almost dark out and I want to enjoy the fire tonight."

After her fifth undisputed year Sheeba was feeling pretty comfortable. Aside from her strict methods her people were happy enough following her orders. She never expected an attempted overthrow. She was making her monthly round checking to see if each master met his specified quota. Ket, a blonde alcoholic with no apprentices of his own, was once again behind.

"That's the third time this year." She said sighing and tapping her foot in disapproval. She lowered her clip board to meet his eyes.

"It's only one or two missions." He said looking around nervously. To everyone who'd met Sheeba she could be the scariest thing ever when in the wrong mood. He was half expecting her to slice him in two in a glorious rage. That would have been the better of her two bad moods. The other usually ended in a mental and physical state so crushed that victims to this wrath have been known to sleep with both eyes wide open.

"You tried that one last year and the year before that."

"So are you going to dock my pay again? Kitchen duty? Make me clean the bathrooms?"

"I'm going to _fire_ you." Sheeba continued walking around to the other members.

"I-" He cut off. He grabbed his knife and threw it at Sheeba who side stepped without as much as a glance to see who threw it.

"He sounds weak," Akefia grunted.

"That's what I thought," Sheeba said frowning, "...I was wrong."

**Once again I apologize that this may be my last fanfic. For any of you who would like to contact me you can send me an ask on Askthegayishtar (my yugioh blog) or message me on DA at ZombiedevilXD **


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